1963 Etype FHC – Paint Prep – The 90/10 Rule

I see that back in May I posed the question “Finally Ready for Paint?” Oh, silly me. Of course not. So what happened? Several things. My painter consultant notified me that he had wrecked his rotator cuff (shoulder joint) and was indefinately out of commision. 2/3’s of my adult children decided to spend the month of July at the our house, with the grandchildren. That was a great thing but it initiated a series of “honey do” projects to get ready. And I really don’t know how I frittered August away but it happened. So in September I found another painting consultant. On his first inspection, he was not impressed with my fine work. He asked me did I want adequate or Pebble Beach? I foolishly said Pebble Beach. Well, 100 hours later, I’m still working through his punchlist.

He wetted the various surfaces down with Tar and Silicone remover, which seems to be an all purpose product for cleaning up surfaces. He would sight into the wet surface, looking at a reflected image like the tubes in my overhead lights. If he spotted a deviation in the reflection, that was a high or low spot to be fixed. He asked me if I wanted my doors to be “flush fit”. I thought I had already done that but apparantly not acceptably. Most vexing, we found that the flat panels of the bonnet next to the louvres were not flat, they were sagging. More on that in a future post, when I figure out how to correct the issue.

He asked to see my sanding blocks. He pronounced them too flexible, such that they were not bringing the surfaces flat. He suggested I purchase the Durablock line of sanding blocks, which I did. I must admit these have proven to be superior. He also asked if I was using a guide coat product. I admitted that I had not been doing this on a regular basis. He said I must. Every step of the way.

So I am went back to sanding the entire bonnet, fenders, sills, and doors with guide coat, which revealed a number of issues. Now granted, these are small issues but when you answer “Pebble Beach”, these issues have to be corrected. So I am back into a cycle of sanding with guide coat, applying sprayable filler and/or high build primer, and sanding again. I think this may an excellent example of the adage “The last 10% of any job takes 90% of the effort”. I’ll get there. I keep telling myself, it’s not a race!